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Chris Short made a successful debut for San Siro Worthing Fivestar, as he won the club's national open event.
In the final, the Sussex club's new signing overcame Phil Redman in a repeat of the English Masters decider in May, this time via a 3-2 scoreline. But maybe more impressive was his semi-final success against world number one Eric Verhagen.
Verhagen - making a unexpected appearance in a English domestic event - can count on the highly-skilled fingers of one hand his defeats against English players over the years, but Short added to that tally by recording a 3-2 victory, skewed somewhat in the Dutchman's favour by two late consolation goals when the game had already been lost.
Verhagen employed a more cautious approach against Short, in what was his first serious test of the day, casting aside his aggressive powerplay style, which was very much in evidence in a 5-1 quarter-final victory over Steve Hawkins.
Signs of a semi-final upset though were present on 9 minutes when a slick move through the centre of his opponent's defence finished with Short shooting just wide.
However, the Wolverhampton player broke a tight deadlock just 5 seconds before the interval, with a chipped effort from the right wing, which evaded Verhagen's keeper and crept over the line.
Right from the re-start, Short forced a save from a tight angle, but he didn't have to wait long for his second after creating an opening from a crowded central position before shooting past the keeper.
Verhagen's response was to launch an all-out attack, though he had to save smartly from Short after a breakaway against a sparse defence.
At the other end Short frustrated Verhagen by keeping his defensive line intact and, when the Dutchman was able to infringe, Short saved with his keeper.
Verhagen's risky tactic backfired however with 7 minutes remaining when he conceded a free flick for hitting a moving flick just inside his own shooting area. With little to block him, Short quickly lined up a shot, which he dispatched into the top corner.
Verhagen's late pressure yielded two consolation goals, the first on 27 minutes via a penalty awarded for handball, and a second with just 15 seconds remaining after intricate build-up play.
The final was a similar story for Short, as he showed blistering form in racing to a 3 goal lead before conceding two goals late on.
After a cagey start, Short opened the scoring in the 8th minute with an excellent shot on the move, sending the ball into the top corner of the net.
Redman responded with a shot that was kept out by a combination of goalkeeper and post.
Short was creating chances out wide, and after seeing a shot from the right tipped over, he extended his lead from an identical position on the left on 12 minutes.
And 30 second before half time, Short had effectively made the game save with an excellent long-range effort which dinked over the keeper.
Short kept in control early in the second half, and was unlucky not to extend his advantage further when a deflected effort hit the crossbar.
However Redman fought back, and pulled a goal back just before the midway point of the second half with a chipped effort from a tight angle just outside the penalty area, before grabbing a second with the last flick of the game to make it 3-2.
In a strong field of competitors - including 7 of the top 12 English players in the UKIC rankings - Short had had to face tough opposition throughout the knockout phase of the tournament, a rarity at an English national open.
He overcame Peter Thomas in a closely fought last 16 match, before a strike in overtime saw off the challenge of Dave Pawsey.
Redman also had a difficult passage to the final, needing a goal 3 minutes from time to beat Martin Hodds, whilst tournament holder Chris Thomas spurned a late chance in a 2-1 quarter-final defeat against the Merseysider.
Redman's semi-final versus David Russell went as far as shots. The Putney SC member took the lead on 12 minutes when a low shot deceived his opponent, but Redman hit back in the second half, equalising with an excellent deflected looping effort.
Redman had the better chances in a goalless extra time, but his shooting was more accurate in the ensuring shoot-out as he emerged a 2-1 winner.
In the quarter-finals, Russell had taken the scalp of San Siro Worthing's Kasper Bennett, who himself had edged past Phil Dacey in the preceding rounds.
* Jeff Jordan beat Worthing's David Croucher 2-1 to win the veterans' tournament, whilst further Fivestar success came in the U19 play-offs, where Brandon Lavender retained his title with an impressive 3-2 win over Antony Collins, and also the main plate competition, in which Brian Barnes defeated clubmate Peter Upton.
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Steve Hawkins 2-0 Simon Bryan
Martin Hodds 4-0 Les Commons
Alan Collins 1-0 Antony Collins (ot)
Peter Thomas 2-0 Colin Lewis (aban HT)
Brandon Lavender lost to Mike Newton (ot)
Phil Dacey 2-1 Nicky Chappell
Victor Jones 2-1 Shaun Allison
Nick McLaughlin 1-2 Rob O'Hare
Eric Verhagen 10-0 Rob O'Hare
Chris Thomas 4-1 Victor Jones
Kasper Bennett 2-0 Phil Dacey
Dave Pawsey 7-0 Mike Newton
Chris Short 1-0 Peter Thomas
David Russell 3-0 Alan Collins
Phil Redman 1-0 Martin Hodds
David Lauder 1-2 Steve Hawkins
Eric Verhagen 5-1 Steve Hawkins
Chris Thomas 1-2 Phil Redman
Kasper Bennett 0-1 David Russell
Dave Pawsey 0-1 Chris Short (ot)
Eric Verhagen 2-3 Chris Short
Phil Redman 1-1 David Russell (ot, shots: 2-1)
Chris Short 3-2 Phil Redman
Other finals:
Veterans: Jeff Jordan bt Dave Croucher 2-1
U19: Brandon Lavender bt Antony Collins 3-2
Plate: Brian Barnes bt Peter Upton 2-0
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